Raymond Parenting

On holidays, our kids share a room.  And the party always starts.  The first night is a blast, and we resist going in.  The novelty quickly wears off (second or third night).  Now, they are so used to sharing a room on holidays, or when we visit grandma, sometimes they party, sometimes they don’t.  Strangely, it’s the older one that tells the younger to shut it down.  Good luck

By Susan on May 13, 2011

When I went back to work after having our 2nd child, my husband and I (mostly me, admittedly) stressed over this same issue when our now 4 year old and 18 mth old had to start sharing a bedroom while sleeping over at Grandma’s house.  I have to agree with Kitty’s advice;  we tried a few different tactics but in the end it just became a matter of reading stories in the room, singing a song or two, and putting them in their respective bed/crib.  Our 4 year old complained about our 18 mth old crying (which was difficult for us as well because she doesn’t do it at home for naps or bedtime) but after a few sleepovers the crying became non-existent and they nodded off within a few minutes of us leaving the room - and NOT going back in!

By Angela on May 15, 2011

We have two 2.5 year olds sharing a room and a few months ago they started getting out of their cribs.  At around this time they started chatting incessantly, with much hilarity and giggling, at bed time (sometimes staying in and sometimes getting out of the crib).  I got in the habit of going in repeatedly to tell them to get to sleep but things did not improve as I had hoped once the novelty had worn off.  Kitty recommended not going in repeatedly and getting crib tents to keep them contained - this worked with the desired effect almost right away and they are now calmer at bedtime with only a minimal amount of talking.  They are getting to sleep earlier and not getting each other up at the crack at dawn - thanks for the great advice Kitty!  In our case, sleep sacks were not enough to keep them in their cribs and I would highly recommend the crib tents.

By Tania on May 15, 2011

We’ ve had our children, 1 and 3, in the same room for almost half a year. The first night, our older child went crazy, pleading with me to take him out. This lasted 45 minutes. I stayed out. The little one, I think, was scared, and stayed quiet. After that, it was smooth sailing. The boys are closer now since sleeping together. The downside is that when the older one has fits of fury at night (which happens once in awhile), the little one gets less sleep. We stay out most of the time
(last night his fit lasted nearly 2 hours!!! ) and this seems to be okay. Sometimes we separate them to give them a break if there’s been a particulary rough night. Overall, however, it has worked out well. They are learning, I hope, to get to know each other and share.  Like all things in parenting, you can’t win all the time but in the grand scheme of things, if you are firm, yet loving, this arrangement, like others, can work out.

By Alexandra on May 17, 2011